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Matthew LaVernon
Matthew Alexander "Matt" Vernon (born August 1, 1985), formerly known by his professional name Matthew LaVernon 'is a British-Canadian television producer, director, actor, and singer. He is best known for creating, directing, producing, and voicing the comedy web program ''You Just Got Mugged!, which began airing on the Shocking Autumn online network in April 2011. Career '''Early life Matthew was born on August 1, 1985 in London, England as the first child of Jonathan Vernon (b. 1950) and Penelope Armerich (b. 1965). At age two, Vernon moved with his parents to Paris, France. Vernon's first sibling Alice Elizabeth was born on March 20, 1988 in Cannes, France, and his second sibling Joshua Grey was born on February 14, 1990 in Paris. In 1995, his family relocated to Montreal, Quebec, and again to Toronto, Ontario in 1999. He graduated from Forest Hill Collegiate Institute in Toronto in 2004. He had gone to high school with the rapper Drake, who is one year younger than him. '2004–10: Education' In September 2004, at the age of 19, Vernon enrolled at Lindenwood University in Bellville, Ontario where he majored in Television and Film and minored in English. He graduated from Lindenwood in May 2010. Deciding a film career, he briefly moved to Los Angeles in August 2010 where he remained for two months before returning to Toronto, deciding to focus on Canadian media as a potential career. '2010–13: ''You Just Got Mugged! Vernon continued to look for work at local television stations - at one point receiving interviews with Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) and CTV Television Network, however his "unprofessional and care-free personality" prevented him from being hired. In October 2010, he filmed a pilot for a web series entitled You Just Got Mugged!. He pitched the program to four different online networks - all of which declined. In December 2010, he pitched the show to Shocking Autumn who asked him to re-write the pilot and submit it for re-consideration to air as their debut program in their 2010-11 midseason. He re-shot the pilot in January 2011, and the series was picked up on March 1, 2011. You Just Got Mugged! premiered on April 7, 2011, and aired its season one finale on May 28, 2011. Following considerable success, a second season was ordered in August 2011 - which premiered in September 2011 and finished airing in December 2011. A pilot for a new series entitled The Jay Day premiered in October 2011, however Shocking Autumn ultimately declined to pick up the show. A third season of Mugged! aired from March 2012 to February 2013. In August 2012, a comedy-pornographic film entitled Suck My Dock was released in which LaVernon appeared in a cameo. The fourth and final season of You Just Got Mugged! begain airing in April 2013 and is currently ongoing. '''2013–present: Acting career In October 2012, it was reported that LaVernon would star in an independent thriller film entitled Who We Are as well as a horror-drama film entitled The Panic. Filming for The Panic took place in January and February 2013 in Ruston and New Orleans, Louisiana. The film focuses on a couple living in a rural area that begin experiencing paranormal and demonic occurences during the wife's pregnancy, and the film premiered at Halloween Frights Independent Film Festival in Baton Rouge on October 4, 2013 to positive reviews. Filming for Who We Are began in Washington, D.C. in July 2013, with the film focusing on a former government official - played by LaVernon - who becomes corrupted and plots to attack the country. Additional filming for Who We Are took place in Ottawa, Ontario in October 2013. The film premiered on December 21, 2013 at the Toronto Indie Film Festival. In February 2013, it was reported that LaVernon would have a supporting role in the comedy film The One Who Breaks which was to begin filming in June 2013, however LaVernon dropped out of the film in April 2013 due to scheduling conflicts. On March 15, 2013, it was announced that Shocking Autumn had ordered a 7-episode first season of an animated series entitled The Bankers, which was scheduled to enter production in early 2014, however the project was cancelled in August 2013. On September 2, 2013, it was announced that LaVernon had begun filming comedy film The Exit Strategy in New Orleans in a supporting role. Production on Exit Strategy wrapped later that month and the film was released exclusively through VideoOnDemand on June 13, 2014. In October 2013, LaVernon stated he was taking a hiatus from his professional career to spend time with his family. In June 2014, it was announced that LaVernon had signed on to star in a The Panic ''sequel, which began filming in Phoenix, Arizona the following month. It was also announced that he will now use Vernon as both his professional and personal surname. Personal life 'Marriage and children' Vernon dated German socialite Anna Fuszman (b. 1989) from 2005 to 2007. He briefly dated American student Lisa Palmer (b. 1992) in mid-2008 and he dated an unidentified male model in October 2008. He began dating Sonja Deltrose (b. 1992), a British model and actress in February 2009. They briefly ended their relationship in August 2011 before reconciling in October. Sonja became pregnant later that month. They became engaged in Paris, France in November and subsequently married on February 28, 2012, in Bora Bora, French Polynesia in a small non-religious ceremony. Their first child, Alexander Everett Xavier Vernon, was born on June 26, 2012, in San Diego, California. In December 2012, the couple announced that they were expecting twins: their second and third sons, Damon Carter and Logan Benjamin were born on May 1, 2013, in Ottawa, Ontario. 'Legal problems and health' On September 14, 2012, Vernon and his friend Tim Henswald were arrested in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York City. According to a police report, the two men had been urinating in the park and walking around exposing their buttocks and genitals. They were taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center for evaluation where they were found to be intoxicated by alcohol and high off marijuana. They were charged for misdemeanor marijuana possession and public nudity however the charges were later dropped. LaVernon joked about the incident on his Twitter account. A similar incident involving Vernon and Henswald occurred on July 4, 2013, in Washington, D.C. however no charges were made. On October 2, 2012, Vernon admitted himself into the Beachway Therapy Center in Del Ray Beach, Florida for substance addiction, reportedly to heroin. He was released on October 20, 2012. LaVernon revealed in an interview in October 2013 that he has struggled with an addiction to heroin since he was 15, and also briefly used cocaine in the mid-2000's. Additionally, he had issues with OxyContin pills in 2010 and 2011. In July 2013, he revealed he had not used any of these drugs since September 2012. In June 2014, he confirmed that he was 21 months sober from heroin, 6 years sober from cocaine, and 3 years sober from OxyContin, however he confirmed that he still drinks alcohol and smokes marijuana. Filmography *2008: ''Jon Bigs (Jon Bigs; unreleased) *2011–present: You Just Got Mugged! (voice; all characters) *2011: The Jay Day (Jay) *2011: Breaking the News: Los Angeles (himself; guest - 1 episode) *2011: Suck My Dock (himself; cameo) *2012: Breaking the News: Manhattan (himself; guest - 1 episode) *2013: Breaking the News: New York (himself; guest anchor - 4 episodes) *2013: The Panic ''(lead role) *2013: ''End Times (short film; supporting role) *2013: Who We Are (lead role) *2014: The Exit Strategy (supporting role)